


Rock the World

by LiaOnandOff



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bad Boy Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Different Personalities, F/M, Swearing, Underage Drinking, adrienette - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 01:04:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21090812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiaOnandOff/pseuds/LiaOnandOff
Summary: Adrien is the new kid in a small American town. Dark and brooding he shows up as Marinette's nextdoor neighbour and classmate. Marinette is determined to become his friend and discover the secret of Adrien's quietness. A rollercoaster of emotions, high school, and fun.





	1. The Start

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, there! This is my first post on AO3. Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and feelings about this.  
Marinette and Adrien are very different from the show, but if you give it a chance, I'm sure you can enjoy them like this, as well.

Marinette was sleeping peacefully in her bed after one of the last nights of partying before starting the new school year with a bang. The window's blinds were shut down, no light from the outside sipping into the room. The light brown floor was covered in a bunch of clothes due to Marinette throwing them out of her closet while trying to decide on something to wear for the party. The closet's doors were still open wide. All of Marinette's make-up products were scattered all over her desk along with some books and notebooks that she had to take to school. The room looked like a total mess and the last thing Marinette needed when arriving back home from the party at 2 AM was to clean it up. The bed seemed to be the only furniture in that room that was some kind of neat. Under the covers, Marinette was snuggled tight dreaming herself at a rock concert in Central Park, New York. Just when the band was about to start playing in her dream, a loud BEEP-BEEP BEEP-BEEP woke Marinette up. Groggily, she reached out her arm and searched for the alarm clock on the night desk. Finally finding it and picking it up, she slowly opened her eyes to look at the time. Precisely 6 AM, time to get up and get ready for the first day of Junior year in high school. With only 4 hours of sleep, Marinette was seriously considering just ignoring it and going straight back to sleep. Suddenly, a loud bang came from outside disturbing the overall silence. Marinette shot up in her bed, sputtering the most colourful words her brain could make up at that point.

Curious to see what caused the commotion, Marinette jumped out of bed, lifted the blinds and peaked outside. In the driveway next to her house, there was a trashcan knocked over and a figure cladded in black was climbing through a window. Marinette's first thought was that someone was trying to break into the neighbour's house, but then she remembered that it has happened once before that week. It turned out that the guy was not actually a thief, but the nephew of the family living next to Marinette's. Marinette's mum announced the stranger to the family and this is how Marinette got the information. This nephew was new in town and did not like being confided in a room for the last week of summer, so he decided to find something interesting to do all by himself in the middle of the night.

Marinette just scoffed at the foolish looking guy trying to climb over the windowsill. She continued watching until he finally made it into his room and turned on the light. Now illuminated, Marinette could see that the guy was wearing a hoodie with the hood drawn up over his head. Just as she was about to close the blinds, the guy took off the hood revealing his blond hair tied up in a messy bun. Marinette could see his profile and somehow she was dying to see his actual face. She stood frozen in front of the window waiting for the guy to turn around. She could see him grow stiff and sharply turn out looking out his window. For a second, it appeared that he made eye-contact with her, but it was stupid to think that since she was surrounded by darkness and she knew for sure that there was no possible way that he could see her. Marinette took the moment to truly look at him. He seemed be a lot taller than she thought at first, he had a strong jaw-line, a straight nose and dark nicely shaped brows. From that distance, Marinette couldn't tell the colour of his eyes or the details of his face, but she was certain that there was no other word to describe him but beautiful. Like, truly beautiful. Suddenly feeling herself blush, Marinette stepped back from the window and closed the blinds, trying to calm herself down.

_"Okay, Marinette, he's just a guy! Do not get ahead of yourself. You just saw him from a distance. Only because he has long hair, it doesn't mean that you have to fall for him!"_

Talking herself down was not something that happened often. Usually she was super calm and composed, without any kind of things troubling her at all. And when it came to guys, Marinette was definitely not the type to go pining over one. That was mostly because her type of guy never showed up in her life before.

You see, the thing with Marinette is that she is some kind of a rebel. Being raised only by her mother, gave her the freedom to do a lot of what she pleased. It's true that she used to get in trouble a lot in her first year of high school, but then she learnt that her mom needed help. So Marinette became more responsible around the house and yet, that streak of rebelliousness remained especially when hanging with people or just plainly creating stir ups at school. Of course, nothing that escaladed past detention. Because of this attitude, it was really hard for Marinette to make close friends, so she decided it's better to just cruise through high school and let people seek her out. What she did not expect, though, was to encounter this girl, Alya, who happened to be the opposite of Marinette in behavior. While Marinette was prone to get into sticky situations, Alya always happened to be somewhere around to help her escape. Since these occurrences were quite often at some point, Alya and Marinette became pretty close and have been inseparable from then on. What Alya happened to do a lot, was fall for every cute guy that she exchanged a few words with. Marinette was the one to keep her level headed and not let her get too much into something before being sure of what she wanted. Luckily, a couple of months ago, Alya got herself a boyfriend, Nino, a classmate of theirs.

Meanwhile, Marinette never found a guy to connect with at this kind of level. She was looking for someone who would have a sense of adventure in them and who would be up to spontaneous trips and outings. Not only that, but she also always imagined herself ending up with a bad boy: all tough and rough on the outside, yet an amazing person hiding underneath that appearance. That's exactly why Marinette felt something inside her chest the moment she set eyes on the face of the neighbors' nephew.

Finally deciding to go back to reality, Marinette shook her head, went to the closet to pick up some undergarments and went to the bathroom to take a shower. After cleaning up and feeling refreshed, it was time for Marinette to decide what to wear on her first day back at school. Rummaging through the clothes scattered on the floor and through the ones left in the closet, she finally found a pair of ripped black skinny jeans, a black tank top and an off-shoulder red top with a black skull on it. Happy with her choice of clothes, Marinette put on her red Converse shoes with small safety pins all over them. Then she quickly put some light make-up on, adding a light red lip gloss on. Satisfied with her looks, Marinette gathered the books from her desk and dumped them into a black and white backpack, then making her way downstairs to grab breakfast.

The house was dead-silent, something that did not happen often, so Marinette enjoyed the silence while she ate a bowl of milk with cereals. Scrolling through her Instagram account she tumbled across a post of her favourite rock band, Iron Maiden, announcing their tour dates for the upcoming summer. They were coming to LA, California on the 22nd of July, a perfect date for Marinette to attend. Keeping her delighted scream at a minimum she made a note to remember to buy the ticket as soon as they were on sale. The only downside was that Marinette had no one to go with to the concert and she doubted that her mom would just let her get on a bus to LA "just to see some screaming long-haired dudes". Her mom never understood her love for rock music and Marinette gave up a long time trying to explain it.

Finishing her breakfast, Marinette picked up her bag and went out the door just as a car pulled in front of the house. Alya was driving a red convertible ready to kick off the start of junior year.

"Marinette, get in! We have 5 minutes to get to the opening speech!" Alya shouted from the car. Marinette chuckled quietly to herself, picked up the skateboard lying next to the door and jumped into the car.

"Chill, Alya! It's just a speech. Have a good year and keep up the good work… The same speech given by principal Normand every year. Aren't you sick of it?" Alya started driving and just laughed at Marinette's attitude.

"You forget the most important part. There is a new guy joining our year! We haven't had a new kid since forever. I think the last time we were in 4th grade and that was you transferring from another school." Marinette was once the new kid to a new school, it was not a fun experience for her.

"Yeah, don't remind me. I was the main attraction for half a year." Soon they arrived at the school's parking lot. There were a lot of people walking in and out of school, hurrying with the final preparations for the start of the year. Marinette just rolled her eyes, got out of the car and made her way to the stairs that lead to the main entrance. Alya was right behind her, struggling to keep her backpack on her shoulder.

"Marinette, slow down! This thing's heavy!" Alya was the kind of girl who took school seriously, which meant that her backpack was not only full of the books they needed for the entire year, but also with the ones for AP classes. Marinette slowed her pace and the girls made their way together to their lockers to drop off their bags. There were more people in the hallway having the same purpose. Everybody has been assigned a locker at the end of the previous year and their schedules have been e-mailed a week before school started. Everyone was sharing stories about what they did over the summer, about trips they took with their parents and friends, about parties they've attended. Marinette closed her locker's door and leaned against it, one foot on the skateboard pushing it back and forth. Alya was still trying to fit her backpack into the locker, finally kicking the door shut.

From the other end of the hallways gasps could be heard from girls and whispering noises were getting louder and louder. Marinette and Alya looked at each other, not understanding what the commotion was about. They turned their heads in the direction of the doors and saw a guy walking through the middle of the hallway, everyone stepping aside to let him pass. Heads were turning in his direction, both from girls and boys. Alya also let a small gasp leave her and Marinette could only stare in disbelief. The guy walking like he had no care in the world, with earbuds on and his hood pulled up was the same guy living in the house next to hers. He had a sheet of paper in his hand and with the corner of his eyes he was checking the locker numbers. He stopped right in front of Marinette and she gulped once. She was unnerved by his presence and that never happened to her. Alya simply took a few steps back afraid of what might happen.

The guy slowly lifted his eyes from the paper and looked past Marinette, at the locker next to hers. He didn't even spare her a look, he simply pushed past her and entered the combination to unlock the door. Marinette gathered her bearings and leaned against her locker once again. She was watching him from the corner of her eyes, patiently waiting for him to put aside his bag. Once he was finished and turned around to leave, Marinette blocked his path. For the first time, he slowly lifted his head to look at her and pulled the wire of the earbuds in order to take them off. He leaned against his locker, raising an eyebrow at Marinette's behavior. She tried to keep her eyes from widening at how bright the colour of this boy's eyes was, emerald green. Being the type of girl who never got tongue-tied, this was a strange occurrence for Marinette. The guy was growing impatient with her. He changed position, propping one foot against the locker, bent at the knee.

"I'm Marinette, from the looks of it, your locker neighbor. If you need help getting around here, you can ask me, if you want." He slowly nodded his head and waited for her to say something else. But she was busy studying him from head to toe.

He was wearing a black hoodie with the imprint of the upper half of a skeleton with the zipper half-way undone. Beneath the hoodie Marinette could see a grey T-shirt with what appeared to be a rock band's logo on it. His black jeans were tucked into a pair of black combat boots. He was dark and mysterious and intriguing to Marinette. What she did not notice was that the guy was also looking at her intensely, taking all of her in. When Marinette finally lifted her gaze to make eye contact with him she inhaled sharply struck by his looks. He really was handsome, beautiful even, there was something harsh and yet soft in his features, and this intrigued Marinette to no end. His hair was loose, reaching below his shoulders. This gave him a touch of innocence, but she could tell there was nothing innocent about this guy.

"Are you going to tell me your name?!" Marinette was blushing, something that has never happened to her in these circumstances before. The guy's mouth didn't move at all, but his eyes seemed to smile (A/N: Don't really know what I mean by that, go with the flow). He just nodded once, stood a bit straighter and in a low gentle voice, said "Adrien". 

Marinette raised an eyebrow and didn't inquire any further. He pushed himself off the locker, straightening up. In his turn he raised an eyebrow and made a motion with his head as if to ask "Shall we?". Marinette nodded. "Come on, Alya, you were excited for the speech!"

"Uuuum, Marinette, I think I'll see you later, okay? I have… umm… I'll just… Nevermind. Bye!"

"Okaaay, that was weird! She's not usually like that". Marinette turned to face Adrien and he just nodded.

"Hmm, you're quite the talker, aren't you?" Marinette teased. He just shrugged and went down the hallway slowly so that Marinette could catch up. She told him some basic rules about the school and what the teachers expected of the students, she told him which places to stay away from (like the bathroom on the 2nd floor and the cafeteria tables next to the doors that lead to the outside zone of the cafeteria), where the library was for homework research and that all labs were on the 3rd floor. Adrien didn't say a word all the way to the high school's football field where the opening ceremony was taking place. When they reached the bleachers and found 2 places to sit, Marinette gave up trying to get a word out of him. They listened to the chatter going on around them, not even looking at each other. Then, out of nowhere, Adrien leaned down and put his mouth next to her ear: "Thanks. I think we'll get along just fine.". Marinette turned her head and smiled at him, ready to respond, but she was interrupted by the loud blare of a trumpet. The ceremony has begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter's coming soon!


	2. Why so quiet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I have already wrote this chapter a few months ago, I decided to not wait until tomorrow to post it. Enjoy!

"That was insanely boring!" Adrien complained to Marinette. Apparently even though he was a quiet person he couldn't help sharing this obvious information with her. Marinette was surprised to hear him speak up.

"Well, this is how it goes every year, it is bound to be boring! Luckily, today we only have a class with the homeroom teacher, after that everybody just goes out and in the evening there's a party going on at the lake." Marinette had a feeling that Adrien was not at all interested in the lake party, but she wanted to see his reaction to it and he did not disappoint. He scrunched up his nose in disgust and shrugged. Marinette gave a wholehearted laugh and shook her head. Adrien again looked at her with a straight face, although she could clearly see his eyes smiling (N/A: I don't really know what that means, just go with it). That was odd, the second time Marinette saw his eyes do that and not his lips. Somehow she figured out Adrien was not at all the normal every day kid who smiles or smirks. He was quiet, mysterious, locked away, straight faced, nothing to give his emotions away besides his eyes. The absolute perfect definition of what Marinette would rather stay away from, but she felt drawn to him, like it was something there that kept him from enjoying life and he intrigued her.

They walked together to the homeroom class and sat next to each other. They were among the first few students to enter the classroom, so when it started filling up, people gave odd looks to Marinette and her new companion. Some girls were looking at Adrien intensely, clearly mesmerized by his looks. The sound of guys scoffing was constant. Although Marinette thought Adrien would be totally oblivious to the attention offered to him, it was becoming quite clear that he was aware of it and wanted none of that. He slid a little lower into his seat and cast down his eyes, while playing with a leather bracelet on his right wrist. Marinette's gaze was drawn to the bracelet because of the movement of his hand. The bracelet was completely black with a few undistinguishable symbols marking it. Adrien noticed that she was looking, so he stopped and picked up a pencil to play with.

He looked at her and she was still checking his wrist out intensely. He put the pencil down and pushed the sleeve of his hoodie up to his forearm. Marinette was caught by surprise and she lifted her eyes to meet Adrien's. He simply placed his arm in front of her letting her take a look at his bracelet. Marinette chuckled softly. There were 3 bracelets perched on his arm, one thin, the one he was playing with earlier, the second wider and with a chain-like pattern drawn on it and the last one was made of dark blue beads. Those bracelets screamed "dark and brooding". She saw that all bracelets were slightly discoloured like he had worn them since forever. Gently, Marinette ran her index finger over the symbol-engraved bracelet and slightly frowned. There were some words written on it. "Never flinch. Never fear, and never ever forget". She recognized the words instantly. They were a quote from a book, Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. Marinette looked up at Adrien who never took his eyes of her face.

She smiled teasingly "I love that book. But I hope your ambition in life is not to become an assassin?". Adrien raised one sandy eye brow and shrugged. She continued checking out the other bracelets and once she was satisfied took in his forearm. Marinette could see the tendons and the veins on slightly tanned skin and the edge of something dark peaking from under the hoodie's rolled up sleeve. A tattoo.

"You have a tattoo." What started out as a question turned into a statement. Adrien let a low sound from his throat, a sound of approval. He pulled the sleeve higher up, unveiling a dark cloud with lightning bolts coming out of it and rain drops.

"You love lightning storms?". Again Adrien grunted.

"Well, I happen to like them as well." Truly, for Adrien, the eyes were the window to his soul. He seemed to not believe her by giving her a hard look, but then he saw the small smile in the corner of Marinette's mouth. She did like them, she didn't just say that for show.

" 'Guess something else we have in common, you know... besides our style..." Marinette teased. Adrien gave her a disbelieving look. She sounded like a 3rd grader trying to make a new friend.

"Our style?" he retorted.

"Yes… you know... black, skulls, band t-shirts…".

Marinette had this "duuh" classic expression on her face and Adrien slightly nodded as if confirming that she is right and accepting her childishness. _ "This girl is so confusing." _

Marinette turned her head a little bit away smiling to herself. Suddenly, a loud bang rang through the room; the classroom's door closed slammed by the teacher, an old lady frowning creating the impression that she had mono-brow. Sternly she introduced herself to the class as Mrs. Ban then proceeded to talk about how the class will be divided in two for French language classes… and other irrelevant stuff. In about half an hour the whole charade was done and everybody was free to go when Mrs. Ban added:

"About the division in two classes during French… alphabetical order, split in half. Tomorrow the rooms will be on the schedule."

Everyone in the class was already standing up impatient to get away, only Adrien was still sitting. Marinette curiously looked at him at the exact moment he lifted his eyes. He lifted an eyebrow in question. Marinette blushed a bit at the intense look he gave her and said to herself _ "Holy shit, his eyes… I'm a gonner…" _ and then outloud: "What?" Adrienne slightly sighed and asked almost whispering: "What's your last name? ... 'cause I hope we're in the same French class".

Marinette barely suppressed a huge smile: "Dupain-Cheng and yours?" Adrien's eyes lit up: "Agreste". He got up from the desk, stretched his hand to the side inviting Marinette to pass by him towards the exit of the room. Marinette's eyes winded: "You're from France, too?". Adrien nodded and shifted his weight on the other foot as if uncomfortable and touching his pulled up hair. Marinette puffed, rolled her eyes and spoke in French: "Thank fuck I'm not the only one who will have to suffer through useless French lessons". Now it was Adrien's turn to widen his eyes and, for the first time in a long time, the corner of his mouth twitched in an adorable way that made Marinette's heart skip a beat.

She thought to herself _ "He's going to be the death of me" _. Regaining her aloof attitude, she straightened her back and by-passed Adrien heading for the school's exit. After a few steps she turned around, noticing that he wasn't following. "Coming?" Marinette raised an eyebrow and Adrien grabbed hold of the strap of his backpack, hoisted it up on one shoulder and walked towards her while thinking: _ "She's going to be the death of me!" _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3rd chapter coming tomorrow for sure!


	3. Cracks in the wall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now there's a more carefree side of Adrien. We'll get some background info about him in a few chapters. Enjoy!

Marinette had her blinds drawn up while putting on dark make-up for the lake party that was only a couple of hours away. She decided to go with a dark purple rock n' roll dress with spaghetti straps and a corset like bodice and with some silver swirling patterns on the skirt. The whole time she had Guns N' Roses blasting from her speakers. While applying some black eyeliner she was mouthing the lyrics to "My Michelle" trying super hard to keep her hand steady. Once she was through with the challenging task of putting on make-up she took a look into the tall mirror on her closet and twirled once stopping with both hands in the air, fingers frozen as horns. Marinette laughed at her antics and moved on to finish doing her hair. She decided to straighten it and leave it down. She was truly looking forward to the lake party since it was known as the biggest party of the second half of the year.

What made the party so famous was that it took place on the isolated mini-island on Lake Lynn outside the town where everyone would get on pedal boats to reach it. The party was organized by the party committee of the high school and everyone from Freshman until Senior was invited.

When she considered herself ready she picked up the phone and called Alya, her ride to the lake. "Hey, Alya! I'm already done. Just come over whenever you want." (**on the phone**, Alya: " Oh, Marinette, there's a tiny little problem… _***furious voice***_ My older sister took my car and got into a minor accident and now I'm stranded on the other side of the city from the lake… I'll have to take a cab… I'm sorry, but I will meet you at the party." Marinette: "Yeah, it's fine, I'll take a cab then, too. Meet you at the lake. And I'm sorry for your car, but at least your brother is fine, right?" Alya: " Yeah, he just skidded off the road and got the car in a tree, but the idiot's fine. See you at the lake, girl!". ***conversation on the phone ended***

Marinette sighed and took out her wallet to check how much money she had to get a cab. She was not super excited about the idea of getting a cab ride somewhere outside the town all by herself, but there was nobody else she knew that lived around the area to join her. So, she thought she would go with a bit of stupidity and ask Adrien to come to the party… at least for a ride… even though she only knew him for not even a day. She puffed and sat on her bed, hands on her knees starring at her black sparkly ankle-length socks. Without Marinette noticing, outside it started to get a bit dark and her lamp light brightened her room, unbeknownst to her making the room and especially her sulky figure visible to Adrien who happened to have just gotten out of the shower and pass his window. 

He stopped from rubbing the towel through his hair and looked at Marinette's back. Suddenly, she straightened herself, got off the bed, picked up her phone, seemed to dial some number… then changed her mind and put the phone down. She started pacing her room. Adrien watched amused and confused the poor girl digging circles into her bedroom's floor. He thought she would be gone by then for the lake party… and she looked to have been ready. He supposed that her friend would pick her up, but there was no sign of the car, so maybe… they had a fight? Adrien knew he shouldn't care about what Marinette was doing… but he couldn't help but wonder about the girl who started talking with him out of nowhere when he thought he made it pretty clear that he is unapproachable. He somehow didn't intimidate or scare her away and he enjoyed it. He knew that partially what kept him from making friends was his shyness, so quite some time ago he decided he would close himself off to people because he was afraid of being let down by people. Adrien realized a few years back that sometimes friends can just pretend to be your friends and then dump you when you need them most… he knew he was heading towards a bad spot… but he couldn't help it. And now here he was… at his aunt's place… a new kid in a new town, awkward, dark and not wanting to meet anybody, but Marinette somehow intrigued him. He sighed and decided to shout to her. Adrien opened his window, braced his arms against the edge, slightly leaned out and opened his mouth… only then for Marinette to turn around and jump a bit when she noticed him. 

Marinette startled visibly at the boy hanging half out of the window. She would've laughed if her gaze hadn't wondered past his wet blond hair and down to his chest and abs. "Damn", Marinette obviously mouthed. Adrien just winked at her, something uncharacteristic for him. Marinette opened her window and leaned over to talk to him. 

"Everything okay? You seemed like you were about to say something." She gently tilted her head to the side, letting her hair fall off one of her shoulders. Adrien swallowed a bit at the bare skin of her shoulder and her cleavage combined with the dark look she went for with the make up. 

Ummm, yeah… Saw you agitated. I wanted to ask if everything's okay." Marinette smiled shyly and told him the entire story of her phone call with Alya and her fear of getting a cab. And then… her face lit up. Andrien's eyes crinkled a bit at the corners suspicious of the girl's change in demeanor. "But… what if… you would come to the party? With me? Then we could catch a ride together." Adrien shook his head and almost retreated… when an idea occurred to him. He didn't want to go to the party, but he did want to spend some time with Marinette in order to get to know her better, something he wouldn't have thought of saying about anyone two days before. He shook his head again, refusing her invitation. "But I have a car. I can give you lift to the lake and then come back". Marinette wasn't so sure about the idea, but then… she kind of entertained the thought of spending some alone time with Adrien, seeing him driving and chatting a bit with him. He was quiet, but she thought she could make him open up on the way. Afterall, how hard could it be to get a person to talk? Especially since he offered to drive her. 

Marinette broke into a grin, enthusiastically nodded and then caught herself. "I don't want to be an inconvenience, it's fine… and besides," she slightly motioned with her head towards his torso "you just got out of the shower. There's no need…" a little too much pause Adrien thought, "unless you insist". Adrien's eyes sparkled in a nice way, but Marinette couldn't see that because of the dark and the distance. Adrien was ready to get dressed and give this girl a ride. Afterall, he offered. In one motion, he quickly drew the blinds down, threw the towel he had around his waist away, got into some clothes, and opened the blinds. Marinette was still at her windows, looking up at sunset colours that could be seen to the side, in between the houses. 

Hey", Adrien drew her attention. "Let's go." He turned his back while pulling his wet hair into a bun and didn't see Marinette slightly skipping to put her black boots on. 

As soon as she was done with that and grabbed her keys and jean jacket, Marinette left the house with a huge grin on her face. Adrien was already waiting for her leaning against his black car's door. Marinette didn't know much about cars, but she could tell it was an expensive one. _"Interesting, wealthy, brooding and closed off. Perfect combination for disaster"_ She internally rolled her eyes. 

When she got close enough to the car smiling from ear to ear, he opened the passenger door for her. Marinette smile widened even more and she happily jumped into the seat. Adrien closed the door then walked around to the driver's seat. As soon as he got into the car, Marinette couldn't help but check out how his tall frame fit perfectly within the car, how the stirring wheel fit in between his legs and how at peace he suddenly seemed to be just by igniting the engine. 

"You like driving that much?" she quietly chuckled. Adrien gave her a side look and gave her a curt nod. He set the car into Drive and they were off smoothly towards the lake party. As they got out of the driveway, Adrien turned the radio on the rock station and Nightwish's Elan was playing. Marinette joined in to the radio and Adrien gave her a puzzled look. "What?! They're amazing!" Marinette shrugged continuing to sing. When the song faded into another fast-paced metal melody, she shifted her gaze onto Adrien, taking him in. One had on the wheel, the other leisurely drawn across the fully-lowered window, carefully driving them through the traffic. She had to admit that seeing him like this almost made her melt. He looked so hot. 

Adrien felt that Marinette was intensely studying him. He was a bit self-conscious, but he had to admit that he enjoyed the attention she paid him. It has been a while since Adrien accepted the intensity of a girl's eyes on him, mostly because every girl that he has ever encountered seemed to just want him for his looks, not even bothering to get to know him. He could tell that Marinette was not like those. She watched him, but more with curiosity than lust, she didn't seem to mind that he was a man of few words, even better, she seemed to enjoy the silence, although she did appear to be quite the chatter. Adrien turned his head towards Marinette and her cheeks became rosy. _"She's beautiful!"_ The thought took him by surprise and he jerked his head back towards the road, clenching both his hand on the wheel. Marinette frowned feeling the shift in his energy. 

"Everything alright?" her tone was slightly teasing, but with a hint of worried. Adrien nodded once. Linkin Park's Leave out all the rest started playing on the radio and Adrien started drumming his fingers on the wheel. He relaxed some more and started humming the song alongside Marinette. At the chorus, they started fully singing, their voices blending together nicely. 

_ **So, if you're asking me, I want you to know** _

_ **When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done** _

_ **Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed** _

_ **And don't resent me, and when you're feeling empty** _

_ **Keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest,** _

_ **Leave out all the rest.** _

They continued singing full on until the last chords of the song, perfectly timed with their arrival in the parking lot of Lake Lynn. They had to take a minute to catch their breath and realize that they ended up harmonizing quite well. For the first time since they met, Marinette noticed a blush creeping onto Adrien's cheeks. 

He turn off the engine, relaxed even more in his seat and Marinette picked her bag off the car's floor. She stopped with her hand on the latch for unlocking the door. Through her lashes, she spoke in a low, almost timid voice: "Thank you for the ride, it was quite fun." Adrien nodded in return as thanks. He almost did not want Marinette to go. Even going with her crossed his mind for a second. Marinette sensed a shift in him, his gaze fixed on her fingers lingering on the latch.

_"Please, let him say yes!"_ crossed Marinette's mind before opening her mouth. "You can still come, you know?" Adrien locked eyes with her on the verge of saying no, but since he had already thought of joining her and with her low voice and fluttering lashes, her left hand clenching her purse and the other almost trembling on the door latch, Adrien sighed, rolled his eyes then got out of the car in one swift motion. Truth be told, seeing Marinette so wound up over wanting him to join, Adrien faked annoyance so he wouldn't give his ( _"what am I feeling?"_ ) enthusiasm away. He didn't even know the girl for more than 12 hours, but he wanted to make her happy. A part of the old Adrien apparently stayed with him. The desire to make the people around him happy. But unlike before, she seemed to also try to make him feel... wanted and... maybe happy?! 

Marinette was dumbfounded by his sudden moves. By the time she recovered, Adrien was opening her door, holding out his hand. "You comin'?" he asked in a rough voice that sent shivers down Marinette's spine. It took her one second to gain her bearings, then took hold of Adrien's outstretched hand and got out of the car. He locked the car, putting the keys in his jean's front pocket and drawing the hood of his jacket up. Marinette arranged her purse's strap on her shoulder and before making any moves, she hardened her stance. "If it makes you so annoyed to come to the party then don't. I'm only asking if you want to loosen up a bit. 

Adrien didn't expect Marinette to call him out on the display of annoyance, so he decided to offer some kind of explanation. "I'm not annoyed at you wanting me to go, just at me for low-key wanting to check it out. I haven't been to a party in quite some time. And not one like this." He looked into the distance as if a memory hit him and he didn't want his eyes to betray him in front of this demanding, yet awfully intriguing girl. Understanding dawned over Marinette. His explanation didn't really make sense, but she was not about to pry into whatever Adrien's reasons were. Shifting her weight on the other leg, Marinette decided to make this party as good as possible for him. Adrien gave her the feeling that he didn't really know happiness, so she wanted to offer him a bit. Even if that would take more than just tonight. She wanted to see him smile genuinely and if she could help with that, Marinette didn't care about what it would take to see him happy. 

Painting a smile on her face, Marinette took Adrien's arm and turned them towards the edge of the lake. "You'll enjoy the party, I'm sure. Alya's going to be there and a couple of more her friends than mine, but I'm sure you'll get along just fine with them" Adrien shrugged and guided them towards the deck where paddle boats were. 

There was music blasting from some cars in the parking lot, people already drinking and dancing while waiting to get into a paddle boat and from the mid-lake island lights and some other kind of music could be seen and heard. Adrien's breath caught for a second while taking in the atmosphere and he had to admit to himself that the display was mesmerizing. High-schoolers were all around, laughing, dancing, enjoying reunions with their friends, chatting over vacations, boys and girls they met or crushed on and what not. Marinette was watching him from the corner of her eye and she couldn't help but notice how he seemed to relax his face and, while holding onto his arm, he felt his body relax as well. Soon, pedal boats returned from the island and Marinette and Adrien jumped into one. "So, you want to stir or me?" Adrien asked Marinette. She laughed "If you don't want to go in circles, you'd better take the lever. 

Adrien grabbed the lever, ready to go. It took a bit before they matched their pedaling rhythm, Marinette losing her footing twice and almost toppling over into the lake with laughter had Adrien not grabbed her arm. He slowly shook his head at her as if disappointed. Then he slowly, oh, so slowly, let himself turn the corner of his lips up while looking at her. Suddenly, Marinette stopped laughing, and took into his slightly more open features. _"Oh, boy, he's complete smile must be devastating."_

Adrien realized a second later that he had the trace of a smile surprising himself. _"I'm starting to like her, I hope I'm not digging myself a hole!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, very soon!


	4. The Party

10 minutes later, Adrien and Marinette arrived on to the island’s dock. Marinette got up first, trying to keep her balance in the paddle boat by stretching her arms and grabbing onto the wooden railing of the dock. Once on stable ground, Adrien got off as well.

The playing party lights from small lighting machines were creating a club-like illusion by casting their glow onto the grass and trees of the island. A mix of white, blue, red and green shone everywhere, dance music blasting from speakers hidden among the trees of the island and all over the place dancing teenagers were having the time of their lives. A few cooling boxes were scattered along the sandy patch surrounding the island. Marinette guided Adrien towards one that seemed to still be half-full and took out two beer bottles. Adrien’s eyes widened when Marinette managed to open one bottle with the other offering it to him. Then she took out her key-chain and using the bottle opener, uncapped her own. Adrien clinked their bottles together in a thank-you kind of manner before taking a sip. Marinette swiftly took her phone out to text Alya and see where she and their “friends” were. Sipping her beer while waiting for an answer, Marinette start tapping her leg to the beat of the music, Adrien already doing the same. After a couple more beer sips, Marinette finally received a message from Alya: “Walk towards the tree-line and you’ll see us on an up-turned paddle boat XO”. 

With all the noise around them, Marinette simply took hold of Adrien’s beer-free hand and guided him toward the tree-line. She instantly recognized the group of people sitting on the message-mentioned up-turned paddle boat. She whistled loudly and Alya whipped her head around grinning from ear to ear. Alya quickly hugged Marinette: “Yeah, girl, you made it!” Then, glancing at Adrien she smiled at him acknowledging his presence and he nodded back. Marinette lightly nudged Alya’s shoulder and once she had her friend’s attention, raised her eyebrows in encouragement to actually talk to Adrien. Alya frowned for a second, than genuinely smiling, turned again towards the quiet boy.

“Thanks for taking care that Mari got here safe. And nice of you to join as well. What did she do to get you?” Marinette rolled her eyes at Alya. Of course Alya would do that: be completely closed off when meeting an intimidating guy and running away as soon as possible, and once convinced of his “tameness” act like she was the queen of confidence. Truthfully, Alya is a very confident person.

Adrien looked at her innocently and answered shortly: “She asked nicely.” Alya’s grin stretched over her face, then boldly set herself in between Marinette and Adrien, taking them arm in arm. She walked them onto the paddle boat where the necessary introductions were made. “Adrien, this is Nino, my boyfriend, next to him, the mighty goofball Kim, the girl with the cap’s Alix, the nerdy looking guy over there’s Max and these two are Rose and Juleka” Alya said while pointing at each person in turn. Adrien simply nodded and took another sip of his beer.   
Nino, who also had a beer in his hand, stretched out his free one to shake Adrien’s. “Nice to meet you, dude. Say, are you always this scary?” Adrien gave him a weird look and shrugged “Not my fault people automatically think I’m scary just because I keep to myself”. Nino nodded, held up his beer “Touche!”. Oddly enough, Nino got a few more words out of Adrien actually managing to get him into a conversation about the party’s vibe, the impression of the town and some other small-talk stuff. Kim and Max joined in at some point, while the girls looked at how Adrien seemed to slightly open up to these guys. 

Alya turned towards Marinette: “Girl, I think Adrien’s going to thank you for getting him to the party. He seems to be making friends with Nino and the guys”.  
“Yeah, what’s up with that? Is he only talking openly with guys?” Rose pitched in,  
“Come on, Rose, don’t think that. He just may be more comfortable having some guy stuff to talk about” said Juleka.   
“Honestly, I don’t know what to make of Adrien. He’s a really nice person. He saw me in my room passing and he was about to ask from HIS room if I’m okay. Most people would have just ignored me.” Marinette said thoughtfully. Rose and Juleka awed and Alya just smirked.  
“Girl, I think you may have a shot with him.” Marinette looked weirdly at Alya. “Alyaaa… we’ve just met. I don’t think of dating him or anything. Except that he’s an interesting person, but so does everyone else.” The girls giggled at Marinette’s reaction and let it go while taking hold of their own beers and cheering to a new, hopefully eventful, school year and to friends.

Adrien truly enjoyed small-talking with the guys. He couldn’t remember a time when someone didn’t ask him intrusive questions in a group or when he felt at peace in a crowd. But these people, they seemed to accept him quiet and reserved as he was._ Maybe I can actually make friends. More friends, Marinette… she’s already one._ The thought took Adrien by surprise and he almost chocked on a sip of beer. When did he start considering Marinette a friend and not a stranger? Turning his attention towards the discussion, he realized Kim has been calling his name a couple of times. “Dude, do you do sports or something? ‘cause the swim team needs a new member, so maybe you could join.” Adrien shook his head. “No swimming. I used to do fencing.” _Why did you tell them that, idiot?_ Kim and Nino gave him a weird look while Max just nodded as if completely understanding why out of all sports he did fencing. Eventually, the boys shrugged off the surprise “Well, no fencing club in this school. But maybe swimming…” Kim got interrupted by Nino “Dude, let it go!” Max joined into the conversation “Statistically speaking, a fencing accomplished student joining the swim team is almost unheard of.” Now Max was the one getting weird looks. “Gee, I’m just joking.” Adrien, now with his beer finished, replied “You’re a weird bunch.” The girls heard their conversation and laughed at Adrien’s response and the guys joined them soon after.

A new song started playing, Shape of You by Ed Sheeran. Alya took Nino by the hand, guiding him towards a dancing spot. Kim went to get another beer, Max took Alix’s hand and politely asked her to join him dancing, Rose and Juleka already dancing on top of the paddle boat to the beat of the song. Marinette gulped the last sip of her beer and started moving to the rhythm. She stretched out her hand inviting Adrien to dance. She didn’t know where that confidence came, half-expecting to be turned down, but Adrien surprised her once more by taking hold of her hand, twirling her once, getting her back pressed against his chest.

Marinette turned her head to watch him, he lowered his head and whispered in her ear: “Here or on the dance floor?” She motioned with her head towards the patch of grass on which people were dancing and Adrien pulled her with him over there. This time, he took her arms and placed them on his shoulders, his hands resting on Marinette’s waist and they started dancing.

They paid no attention to the lyrics, simply enjoying the beat of the music and letting lose. Marinette teasingly ran one hand down Adrien’s chest while moving her hips, letting the other hand play with the strands escaping his bun. Adrien tightened his grip on the girl’s waist closing his eyes at the feeling of her hand on his chest. He could feel the warmth of it through his t-shirt over his heart. He lowered his head and pulled Marinette closer taking the lead in dancing. Adrien turned her around swiftly, placing his hands on her hips instead of waist. He drew closer until there was no space in between their bodies anymore. Marinette’s breath hitched at the proximity, but almost instantly relaxed in Adrien’s hold and gave in to his control. He rolled her his hips into her backside, with his head lowered in such way that every breath of his ghosted over Marinette’s sensitive neck skin. She stretched one arm and grabbed the back of Adrien’s neck bringing his head even lower until his nose touched her shoulder. He pressed his lips lightly against her skin and they both were surprised at the gesture. It was like they snapped back to reality, Marinette turned to face him and she saw a blush creeping onto his cheeks. She brought her arms around Adrien’s shoulders and buried her face in his chest laughing with the high of dancing. Soon, the song was over spilling into another one just as catchy. They continued dancing, at a more appropriate distance, but still skirting the limits of their newly formed bond.

Marinette felt so alive dancing with Adrien, something she hasn’t felt with anyone ever before. She knew her feelings towards him were already changing. Wanting see him happy, see him smile, wanting to be close to him even in silence. She was determined to break down his walls. Unknowingly to her, Adrien was thinking that he wouldn’t mind letting Marinette into his life, maybe even allowing her to see the real him. The Adrien that has been buried under a mask for some time now. The Adrien that was sweet and innocent with eyes full of wander. The Adrien that he had had to get away from.

Dropping these sad thoughts, with the speakers blasting another fast-paced song, Adrien leaned down, raising his voice to be heard by Marinette: “Do you want something to drink?” Marinette nodded accepting Adrien’s hand, letting him guide her away from the mass of twirling, grinding and sweaty bodies. They spotted a cooler box, picked a couple of sodas and made their way towards one of the sandy sides of the island. They sat down on the ground, Marinette hugging her knees to the chest, Adrien completely lying down with an arm under his head. They hung there in a comfortable silence, enjoying the music in the background, the barely there water ripples and the stars and moon reflecting into the water’s surface. Soon, the air became thicker, charged with electricity. Adrien sat up, Marinette’s neck stiffened. They both looked up, the sky gathering quickly thick rain clouds. Adrien shifted closer to Marinette, setting a hand on the back of her neck for asking if she wanted to go back to the mainland. She turned her face towards him locking their gazes as a rumble of thunder boomed from above.

Had someone watched that exchange of looks, combined with the thunder, one thought would cross their minds: “Coup de foudre”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's going to be a couple of days before the next chapter's up.


End file.
